Van Wailin’ has Lovely Handles pinned to the pink mats as she thumps her opponent repeatedly with a pillow. Crowd members chug beer and shout obscenities from three metres away. Two commentators trade barbs from a nearby stage.

Founded and operated by women, the group formed after a five-year-old Pillow Fight League went on hiatus in March. More than 200 people — female university students, men in business suits, and ZZ Top clones among them — crowded around a 12-by-12 ring on Friday night for six girl-on-girl fights, held at El Mocambo, a rock club near College and Spadina.

“It’s certainly meant to be a spectacle, halfway between WWE and roller derby, with elements of mixed martial arts thrown in,” said 29-year-old Bedlam co-founder Chrystal Clear. The evening also featured a standup comedy act and drag performance.

None of the 15 fighters use their real names. Instead, they assume elaborate personas.

Van Wailin’ is a 25-year-old former journalism student, who rocks 1980s party girl makeup. Lovely Handles is a Middle Eastern temptress. Stella Lugosi, a vampire, models herself on WWE fighter The Undertaker.

“I want to bring the dark side and doom to pillow fighting,” said Lugosi, 29, a web designer by day.

Even with arm and knee pads, a standard-size polyester pillow and referee, the fights get violent. Elbows to the face, clotheslines, knee drops — all moves are legal, as long as a pillow is in play. A match ends with a three-count pin or submission.

Before Friday’s fight, the fighters had trained twice a week for three months, learning how to properly execute and take hits.

Unlike lingerie football, where women play in underwear, Bedlam encourages its fighters to express themselves through costume.

“Lingerie football is a gimmick,” Lugosi said. “There’s no reason to wear lingerie other than to be sexualized. We’re out to own what we have.”

Van Wailin’, who said she had butterflies in her stomach before the fight, handily defeated Lovely Handles, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Along with a message of empowerment the fighters want to send, they are concerned with presenting an entertaining show.

“You get to go out of your comfort zone,” Wailin’ said. “This gives me a chance to be someone I’d like to be.”

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